


Mateo Goes To Nationals

by 3ALover



Series: Surprise [3]
Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mpreg, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-15 19:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3ALover/pseuds/3ALover
Summary: Six years after Yuzuru Hanyu retired for good and he and Javier welcomed their daughter into the world, ten year old Mateo Hanyu Fernandez has qualified for his first ever Canadian National Novice Championship.Javier and Yuzuru are far more stressed out by this than Mateo.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I said on Twitter I had a short thing about Mateo and Emi and this is it! It is going to be very short, maybe 3 chapters, but I just had this thought and it is too cute to pass up!

“Papa! Papa!” Javier turned around at the sound of his son’s voice and spotted him skating over, practically dragging his sister behind him. 

“Mateo, how many times do I have to remind you Emi’s legs are shorter, you’re dragging her around,” he asked, hands on his hips. 

“But guess what!” Mateo said excitedly, smiling and bouncing like he was two, not getting close to ten now. “Emi, tell him!”

Emi smiled up at him. “Papa, I did a big double salchow and didn’t fall down!” she said excitedly. 

Javier beamed. “Really!? Wow!” He knelt down, holding his arms out for her to skate into them. He hugged her and then pulled back to look at her. “My babies. Growing up so fast,” he said, then faked sniveling and crying to make them giggle. 

It was hard to believe that Mateo was about to be ten and that Emi was six. He and Yuzuru hadn’t pushed their kids into skating, but Mateo had been a natural, and as he got older, seeing all his parents medals and prizes made him want to skate, too. Emi, naturally, followed her big brother everywhere. Mateo worked hard to get ready to try and become a junior in a few years, but Emi was a real natural. She was six years old and already getting her double jumps. Mateo was up there, he was working on triples and even already had a double axel, which to Javier was crazy to imagine, but kids these days were already going into juniors with triple axels and quads. 

“I’m gonna learn alllll of Mateo’s jumps!” Emi said excitedly, giggling in the cutest way. Where Mateo looked a lot more like him than Yuzuru, Emi looked like her Tousan’s clone. Javier adored how her little eyes almost disappeared when she smiled the same way Yuzuru’s did. She had straight hair, unlike Mateo, and smaller eyes, and looked just like Yuzuru in a tiny body. She was even long and slender like Yuzuru. 

“Come on, I’ll help you!” Mateo urged, and Emi beamed, taking her big brother’s hand to let him pull her around again. 

Javier grinned at how cute they were. He and his sister were close enough, but Mateo was Emi’s hero and Emi was Mateo’s favorite person in the whole world. Neither he nor Yuzuru had ever been so close to their sisters, so it was wonderful to see their children so loving and close. 

Speaking of children. 

Javier turned and smiled a softer, more delicate smile as he spotted Yuzuru, talking to Brian at the side of the ice.

And rubbing the swell of his belly. 

They tried for three years to adopt. However, they weren’t citizens, so they couldn’t adopt in Canada. They even moved to Spain at one point, hoping that Yuzuru could get citizenship so they could adopt there. However, as much as Javier dreamed of starting a skating program in Spain to rival any in the world, within six months, Yuzuru was miserable. He couldn’t speak Spanish, he was stuck at home with two small children, and though he never once complained, Javier knew his husband. He saw how down he was. 

Javier had a dream, but everyone had to sacrifice dreams for the wellbeing of those they loved. When they moved back to Canada, Javier was surprised at how happy the kids were to be back, too. As much as he missed Spain, he had to accept that his children were Canadian. Their lives were in Canada. Yuzuru wasn’t happy in Spain, so isolated and alone. Nothing was worth making his family unhappy. Toronto was good to them, it always had been, so they decided to settle back down. Once the kids started skating, they were going to be representing Canada. Mateo was already registered as a Novice skater in Canada. 

After giving up their plans to adopt, Javier was happy to accept the two beautiful miracles they had been blessed with. Yuzuru, however, really wanted another child. Thanks to modern technology – and good money – they were able to find a specialist in male fertility. Though it wasn’t as sexy as conceiving the other two had been, and not quite as special as meeting adoption candidates and picking the right one, they found a solution to their problems in a fertility specialist who could offer fertility treatment and then, when they were both at peak fertility, artificial insemination to ensure that it took and they didn’t miss their window due to performance issues or interruptions. Masturbating into a cup and then having a woman put that semen into his husband was not exactly the most romantic way to conceive a child, but after four failed attempts – a years’ worth of treatment before, between, and after those attempts - and after a heartbreaking false alarm in which Yuzuru thought he was getting morning sickness but ended up being allergic to his new breakfast snacks, they finally managed to conceive. 

Their third – and agreed final – baby was currently five months developed and a healthy, perfect, beautiful baby girl. Mateo was going to be ten when she was born, which was a bigger gap than they initially wanted, but they weren’t worried. Mateo, just as he had when he was a toddler and learned Yuzuru was having another baby, got more excited than anybody when they told the kids they were having a new baby sister. He regularly hugged Yuzuru just so he could rub his belly and talk to the baby, even though he was getting to a rambunctious age. He was as wild of a child as Javier had ever been, according to Javier’s mother. Yuzuru had been a sickly child who couldn’t be so wild, but Mateo was strong, healthy, and actually getting pretty tall. Javier had a feeling Mateo would be taller than both of them, since he was ten now and already up to Javier’s chest. Emi was small for her age, which worried them a little, but to be so small and thin, she was a healthy child. Yuzuru had worried one of their kids would inherit his bad immune system and poor health, but even now, Yuzuru got sick more often than either of the kids did. 

Javier took a break and skated over to Yuzuru and Brian with a grin. “Were you watching what I missed? Mateo says Emi’s doubles are getting really solid.”

Yuzuru beamed. “I saw it. She’s such a natural.”

Brian chuckled. “Shocker, Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernandez gave birth to a prodigy,” he said sarcastically. 

Yuzuru smirked and poked Brian’s side. “I think Uncle Brian has something to do with it, too. I saw you helping Emi last week when the kids were just playing around on the ice while we waited for the juniors to get here.” Brian gave a smug smile and Javier shook his head.

“You have to stop teaching them. We’ll end up having to hire you to coach her if she gets used to you,” Javier joked. “Shoma would be heartbroken.”

One of the least expected moves ever was that, after Shoma retired two years ago, Yuzuru convinced him to coach their kids. Shoma was a very young coach, barely turned thirty, but he was actually really great with Emi and Mateo. Mateo teased him all the time that he was going to be as tall as Shoma before too long, but it was a fun teasing. Shoma was like the cool uncle who played with them but still could get them to focus and train. Javier and Yuzuru had thought about coaching them, but they didn’t want that stress on their bond as parents and children. They loved Brian like another family member, but there had been plenty of times they got into arguments during training, and they didn’t want that to affect their actual children. 

Shoma still sucked at English. It was hilarious.

“You child steal my paper.” Javier, Yuzuru, and Brian all turned to Shoma, who was glaring up at them with his arms crossed. “Mateo steal paper and run!”

“Your clipboard?” Brian asked, smiling in a friendly way. “Don’t worry, I got it back. Mateo was trying to hide it,” he said, picking the clipboard up from the floor behind them. “Here. Also I like the little drawing,” he said, and Shoma blushed, then skated away to go find Emi and Mateo in the mess of kids skating. Since they were just little kids, Mateo the only one even in Novices, they trained during open hours rather than spring the money for private ice time. 

Javier wrapped his arms around Yuzuru, spreading his hands over the swell of his daughter inside of Yuzu. “Just get used to it. You have another one coming,” he said brightly, and Yuzuru beamed and kissed his cheek. 

“She will be a pairs skater or ice dancer,” he decided with a bright smile. “Mateo and Emi do singles skating, so one of them has to do pairs or dance.”

Javier kissed him sweetly. “I can’t wait. Our family of skaters.” Last year, during the ice shows, they had brought Mateo and Emi with them and the organizers in Sendai had given a whole five minutes to Mateo and Emi to show off their skating skills during the show. They did an adorable little not-quite-pairs skating performance where they skated side by side and did a little show of dancing together. It was the highlight of the show for some of the fans, because who didn’t love adorable children skating? Yuzuru, still the eternal host of Japanese ice shows even if he had been replaced by younger stars, even did a skate with Emi in his arms the whole time. 

Javier had greatly objected to Yuzuru doing his delayed single axel while holding his child, but he didn’t know it was coming until he did it and gave Javier a heart attack. It had been an internet sensation, especially when he put Emi down and she did an adorable single axel of her own afterwards. 

“I cannot believe my baby is getting ready for his first nationals,” Yuzuru said, sighing and clutching his hands to his chest as he watched Mateo and Shoma talking across the ice. “It is crazy enough he got through the qualifying competitions!”

“By the time you were ten, there were already cameras waiting for you at the rink,” Javier pointed out.

“Yeah, I don’t know how my mother did it,” Yuzuru said, hands spread over his belly. “I nearly died watching him skating at regionals. All those older boys skating around on the ice with him at practice was so terrifying. What if they ran him over?!” 

Javier grinned and kissed Yuzuru’s cheek. “You’re too cute.” He put a hand on Yuzuru’s belly, rubbing gently. “Your Tousan is silly, Baby Girl,” he said, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Yuzuru’s belly before releasing him and skating backwards to go back to skating around, watching his kids in the mess of skaters on the ice. 

~

For Canadian Nationals, the only requirements for novices was that the skater couldn’t be older than their late teens, so as Javier and Shoma took him to register once they arrived, it was surprising to see so many boys who were clearly fifteen or sixteen years old. In fact, there were only a few boys as young as Mateo even there. Mateo looked so little next to these boys wandering around.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but some kids should just accept they’re not good enough to go to Juniors and stick to hobby skating,” Shoma muttered under his breath in Japanese so nobody would understand besides Javier and Mateo, watching a kid pass him that was a solid six centimeters taller than Shoma was. 

Javier chuckled. “Ah, I wasn’t very good at that age. I was only in Juniors for a year and a half. Moved up to seniors at fifteen and sucked. I was so bad, the first time they sent me to Worlds, I didn’t even make it to the free program. A lot of these boys probably come from regions where there aren’t any really good skaters, so they’re the best from that area. If you can keep going, I can imagine it would be hard to give it up.”

Shoma hummed. “Can’t relate. I was so good as a novice I got invited to Junior Nationals when I was too young to be a junior internationally.” He smiled and ruffled Mateo’s curls. “Our little Mateo will be that good, too. None of the rest of these kids have a triple Lutz!” Mateo preened at the praise. Javier chuckled because he really was his son. Mateo was a natural show-off, and just as silly as Javier could be sometimes. 

“You sure have that Fernandez charm, Son,” he teased, ruffling his curls. “Not that the Hanyu side doesn’t have it just as bad.” He kissed Mateo on top of the head. “Come in, let’s get you registered and then go find Tousan and Emi and see about some food.”

“Foooood!” Mateo cheered, arms up in triumph. Javier snickered and shook his head. He sure got that silly personality honestly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After Brian RUINED OUR HEARTS yesterday, I think that you will enjoy this short program fluff chapter!

Emi loved her big brother. She loved her Tousan and her Papa. She also loved Coach Shoma. However, Mateo was her favorite always. When they got booked in for his first ever Nationals, she wrapped her arms around him and cuddled close in their bed. “You will win,” she whispered, and Mateo smiled, kissing her forehead.

“I probably won’t. There are a lot of bigger boys,” he murmured, hugging her close.

“Nuh-uh,” she argued, pressing her head under his chin. “You’re the best.” He hugged him close, squishing him. “My big brother is the best skater EVER!”

From their parents’ bed in their hotel room, she heard a snicker. “Shhh, Emi. I know, Mateo is the best but you both need sleep.”

She grimaced and Mateo made a face at her. “Sorry, Tousan,” Mateo said, hugging Emi close to speak for both of them. “We’ll sleep now.”

“I hope so. You have practice in the morning. Don’t forget.”

“Goodnight, Papa, good night Tousan,” Mateo offered, then held a finger to his lips as he looked down at his baby sister. She smiled and held a finger to her lips before laying hear head on her big brother’s shoulder, snuggling in to get comfortable.

Emi loved her big brother the most in the whooooole world. He was the best big brother ever. Mateo was gonna win and be the best skater there was. She smiled, closing her eyes as she imagined her big brother wearing a gold medal like all the photos of Papa and Tousan. She squeezed his arm and wiggled excitedly because tomorrow he was gonna skate and she couldn’t wait to see him show all those other boys what he had. 

~

Yuzuru had no idea how his mother stood watching him skating around during practice with so many other boys coming within feet of colliding with him. As a skater he was never scared, but watching Mateo skating around, focusing on his own routine while other, much bigger boys zoomed around him? It was nerve-wracking. 

“He looks so tiny out there.” Yuzuru looked at Javi, who had appeared at his side. He nodded, leaning into Javi’s side.

“My little man,” Javier said fondly. He wrapped the arm that was around Yuzuru’s waist far enough to absently rub at their daughter. “It’s been six years since you retired for good. How crazy is that?”

Yuzuru smiled warmly. “It has been _ten_ since you retired. Time flies, huh?” he asked, looking up into Javier’s warm brown eyes. The lines around them were real wrinkles now. His hairline was further receded than Brian’s hair had been when he was fifty. There was gray hairs in his goatee. And yet, Yuzuru thought, Javier was still the most handsome man he had ever seen. “We’ve been married ten years,” he said with an amused giggle. “That’s crazy.”

“I know,” Javier said, squeezing Yuzuru closer. “I’m getting old and you still, ridiculously, look like you did when we got married. Honestly, it’s like I’m aging for both of us.”

Yuzuru smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. “Maybe you just discovered my evil plan.” Javier grinned and Yuzuru couldn’t resist kissing him sweetly. “Mmmm, we may be getting old, but that never does.”

Javier grinned. “The fact we had two children without help and are on our third says the fire never really dies, huh?”

“I would sleep with you every single day if our busy lives allowed it,” Yuzuru confirmed, then slapped Javier on the butt before wiggling out of his hold. “Come on, Sexy, I need to find out where Shoma took our daughter.”

“Oh ho, sexy, huh?” Javier flirted, sliding his hand into Yuzuru’s as he followed him. “You know how to brighten a man’s day, _Cari_!” Yuzuru rolled his eyes at his husband’s ridiculous antics, but he was used to them by now.

Ten years and three children with a man made him easy to predict. 

~

The answer, they found, was that Shoma was using their child, essentially, as an easel. When they found him rink-side, he had Emi holding his clipboard in her arms, using her chest and chin to prop the back of it up so he could use his hands to gesture to Mateo when he called out instructions. “Really?” Yuzuru asked flatly, and Shoma rolled his eyes.

“What else would you have me do?”

“Not use my child as a prop?” Yuzuru offered. “Emi, is Shoma-san being mean to you?”

“No, I’m helping!” she said with a big smile. “I want Mateo to do super good, so I’m helping Coach Shoma!”

Yuzuru smiled in spite of himself and shook his head. “Shoma, stop manipulating my children into being minions for you,” he said, and Shoma just grinned.

“Come on, having minions is fun,” he said, then turned back to the ice when Mateo skated over. “Good job. Let’s work on the double axel. You’ll win for sure with that.”

“Just be careful!” Yuzuru called as Mateo skated away and he sighed. “God, I’m a nervous wreck over this. Shoma, don’t let him push it. I know what I was like. If he gets hurt I’ll never stand it.” Yuzuru had been practically the worst fear of most skaters, a hovering parent who was terrified of everything he did, but it was so different looking in from his perspective now than that of his skating days. Even his mom hadn’t made him wear a helmet until he was seven like he had with Mateo. He still made Shoma put Emi in a helmet when she was learning something new that she wouldn’t be familiar with how to fall safely on. He couldn’t stand the thought of his babies getting hurt like he had all through his career. When he skated with a broken foot, he hadn’t thought of anything but winning, but imagining Mateo skating with a broken foot was the worst thing ever. He didn’t want to do it, but he was pretty sure if Mateo got hurt in any of the ways he had during his career, he would personally lock him in his bedroom so he couldn’t practice until it healed. Javier said it was extreme, but Yuzuru couldn’t imagine how Javier _didn’t_ feel that way. 

They were just _babies_ and he had to protect his babies. 

That being said, when Mateo did a beautiful double axel with a perfect landing, Yuzuru felt a wave of pride at the way several of the bigger boys stopped skating altogether, looking at Mateo with shocked expressions. Sure, some of them had bigger double axels, but there were only two other boys Mateo’s size there, and some of these boys may have been well on fifteen years old. Yuzuru beamed and clapped excitedly for Mateo. “Yay, Mateo!” he cheered for him. “That’s my baby!”

“Tousaaaaannn,” Mateo whined on the way past, glaring. “That’s embarrassing!”

Yuzuru smirked. “Oh, I’m sorry. YAY MATEO LOOK AT MY SWEET BABY BOY GO!” he shouted loudly, and Mateo groaned, doing a silly slide to flop onto the ice in despair. 

Shoma chuckled. “Alright, triple lutz time. Let’s really get these landings stuck before tomorrow!”

Most of the kids had all their triples and a double axel, but most of them were teenagers. Mateo was ten and clearly just as good as any of these boys, at least to Yuzuru’s eyes. He just had to hope Mateo didn’t panic at his first national competition. A good showing at his first nationals would give him good mental momentum going forward. He loved skating and Yuzuru had a good feeling Mateo would end up at least going on to juniors. 

Yuzuru rubbed his belly, trying not to get choked up. His baby boy was growing up on him and his last baby he would get to have was only a few months from being born. “My kids are growing up too fast. You, too,” he whispered to his belly. “Give me a little more time to enjoy you guys being little and cute.”

~

Watching Mateo skate out when the second group was introduced and hearing his name announced while he presented to the crowd was when it really set in for Javier that this was it, his little baby boy was about to perform at his first national competition. The baby he had held when he was seconds old what only felt like was just yesterday was standing out there on his own, starting his warmup. 

“Javi? Are you okay?” Javier glanced at Yuzuru, who was looking at him curiously, and he cleared his throat and nodded, ignoring the sting behind his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay,” he said, lacing his fingers with Yuzuru’s on his lap. They were in the stands, Emi in the seat on Yuzuru’s other side, watching the competition eagerly. Javier already recognized the look on her face as Yuzuru’s determinedly competitive face. He had a feeling Emi would be a handful when she gold older the same way Yuzuru had been, because that look said she was planning to get every single jump she was seeing and do it better than these boys, some of whom were ten years older than she was. Javier shook his head in amusement, chuckling softly. 

She would be the one he had to make sure didn’t make a copy of the key to the rink like Yuzuru had when he was pregnant with Mateo. 

“The next competitor to skate, Mateo Hanyu-Fernandez!”

Javier and Yuzuru only let go hands to clap for their little boy before instantly clasping them back together, squeezing tight. They were both clearly nervous as hell. However, it turned out they had no need to be. Mateo’s opening double axel was _textbook_ , and he was the first boy of the night to get a solid camel spin that didn’t wander. His triple lutz was fully rotated and landed cleanly, his sit spin was very deep whereas most of the boys were a little high in theirs, and his triple toe, triple toe combination had only the slightest snow on the landing of the second toe. 

When he finished, Javier had never felt prouder in his whole life. As it was a novice competition, there was no wild crowd, but Javier and Yuzuru made as much noise as they could for their baby boy, watching him pose. They were getting a lot of looks, but he didn’t care, even if Mateo looked embarrassed as he skated off the ice to where Shoma was waiting for him. 

“That was so good!” Yuzuru said excitedly.

“I know, he was beautiful!” Javier agreed, beaming. “I can’t wait for this,” he said, fingers crossed as they waited for the scores. 

~

Shoma was actually stounded that Mateo did so well, so as they sat in the Kiss and Cry, he rubbed his back, smiling down at him. “That was amazing. I’m so proud,” he said, and Mateo beamed at him, his little eyes sparkling excitedly. His hands were shaking with adrenaline and Shoma grinned, patting his back again. 

“The scores please,” the announcer called, and Shoma wasn’t sure who grew more still, him or Mateo. “Mateo Hanyu-Fernandez has earned forty-eight point two-four points. He is currently in first place.” Shoma’s eyes widened at that score.

“Amazing!” He turned to Mateo, who was laughing with his hands over his face. “You’re ahead of the next person by seven points!” He pulled Mateo into a hug and Mateo hugged him back.

“I was so scared,” Mateo giggled, still shaking with adrenaline. “Do you think Papa and Tousan and Emi saw?” he asked, looking around trying to spot them. 

Shoma grinned and ruffled his curls. “You saw them cheering, you know they did,” he said, shaking his head. 

He didn’t now what he should have expected of Yuzuru’s son. Of course he was so good. With six world championships, four Olympic medals, and Shoma couldn’t even remember how many grand prix medals between his fathers, of course he was talented. He trained hard, but that natural grace he had was definitely in his blood. 

“You’re going to be a star someday,” Shoma said fondly and Mateo just continued on giggling adorably.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter of this little fic: The Free!
> 
> Thank you guys for letting me indulge in adorable Hanyu-Fernandez cuteness.

Unlike junior and senior competitions, generally there was little press and those that were there didn’t pester the children, so the first people to see Mateo were his family. “My baby!” Yuzuru cheered, running over to hug him close. He kissed the top of Mateo’s head. “You did so good! That was an amazing short!”

Mateo beamed up at him. “I’m in second! If I do really good in the free I can be on the podium and get a medal!”

Yuzuru kissed his forehead. “You are definitely getting a medal.” He giggled when the baby kicked. “See? Your baby sister agrees,” he said, and immediately Mateo put his hands on Yuzuru’s belly, feeling for the baby. When he found her he got that loving look in his eyes he always did and he leaned in to kiss Yuzuru’s belly over his shirt. 

“I’ll give my medal to you if I win,” he said to Yuzuru’s belly and Yuzuru’s heart _melted_. 

“You’re the best big brother ever,” Yuzuru said softly, brushing his curls back. “She’s going to be the most loved baby ever.”

Mateo smiled up at him. “Emi will win even more medals than me and we can give them to the baby,” he gushed excitedly.

“I love you guys,” Javi said, scooping Mateo up, holding him on his hip. “Congratulations on being second after the short! I just didn’t want to interrupt you being so cute with your baby sister.”

Mateo giggled. “I can’t wait for her to be here. She’s gonna get tons of medals from me and Emi!”

“MATEO!” Mateo looked around excitedly as Emi collided with Javi’s leg, grabbing onto his foot. “You were SO COOL!” she gushed, jumping excitedly. Javi grinned and sat him down and Yuzuru’s heart fluttered when he watched Mateo hug his baby sister.

“Thanks, in a few years you’ll be just as good,” he said, kissing the top of her little head. 

Yuzuru loved how his children interacted. He and Saya loved each other so much, but they never had the opportunity to be as close as Mateo and Emi. Saya quit skating about the time Yuzuru started getting good, and then when he was really good, he took their mother away from her. She’d had a tough conversation with him just a few years ago, long after the fact, about how one of the biggest problems in her life was that she didn’t have her mother in her early adult years when she needed her there the most to help guide her. He felt bad for that, but at the same time, taking their mom away from her let him meet his husband and have his children. So to see the way that Mateo and Emi loved each other the way a brother and sister should was amazing. Much like how Maia and Alex loved each other, that was how Emi and Mateo were. 

Javi and his sister had been a little less strained than he and Saya, but still, he left home at such an early age, it was hard to be so close. Emi and Mateo, they trained at home so they would be able to grow up together and grow up with the baby when she was born. Yuzuru couldn’t wait to see Mateo giving his senior gold medals – for Yuzuru had the utmost faith in his son – to his youngest sister when she was still a little girl. The baby inside of him now would never want for affection from her big brother and big sister. 

“Going into the free tomorrow, you will be in good shape to win,” Javi encouraged. “You could get your very first Nationals medal tomorrow!” he said, and Mateo beamed.

“I hope so, Papa. I want to give it to you and Tousan,” he said simply, as if that wasn’t so sweet that it made both Yuzuru and Javi look at each other and beam, fighting the urge to cry at how sweet their baby boy was. 

~

Emi stood on her tippy toes to see Mateo practicing with the other big boys. She wasn’t tall enough to see over the barrier, but she found she could pull herself up so her eyes overlooked the top of it. She strained, trying to see her big brother, only to gasp when hands grabbed her under her arms and picked her up. She looked down and giggled when Coach Shoma put her on his shoulders, smiling up at her.

“There, you can see better,” he said, holding her knees securely. She rested her hands on top of his head and when she spotted Mateo, she giggled at how he was skating along, working on his choreography. “You think your brother can win?” Coach Shoma asked her.

“Yeah!” she said eagerly. “Mateo is the best skater ever! Even Papa and Tousan say so!”

“At least until you grow up some,” he said, looking up at her. “You’re gonna be better, huh?”

“ _Obviously_ ,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m gonna get more gold medals than Tousan and Papa together! But Mateo is a boy, he’s the best boy. I’m gonna be the best girl!”

“What about your baby sister when she comes?” he asked, and she hummed seriously.

“She can be the most silver medals,” she agreed, giggling when he made a face. “Coach Shoma, will you teach her, too?”

“Sure,” he said simply. “If she wants to skate, your parents asked me to coach their children, they didn’t say which ones.” He smiled. “You guys are really cute. I didn’t get to know you guys as babies. I can’t wait to meet your baby sister.”

“Me, too,” she said warmly. She got all excited thinking about a baby sister. Emi couldn’t wait! She could teach her stuff how Mateo taught Emi things. She could help her grow up like Mateo did for her. Emi got to be a big sister the same way Mateo was a big brother to her. And the new baby would have Mateo as a big brother, too, so she would be the luckiest baby ever. “Papa and Tousan said she can be a pairs skater. I like that,” she said, giggling softly. “I would be scared to get throwed around!”

“Yeah, me, too,” Coach Shoma said, making a face. “But hey, if she wants to be a pairs skater, I’ll learn how to coach pairs,” he said simply. “Your Tousan, he helped me out a lot when I was first starting to skate. I would do anything to help him with you guys. If I can get Mateo to win today, I’ll get you to win in a few years.” He smiled up at her. “By the time Mateo is a Junior, you’ll be a Novice. When he’s a senior and you’re a junior, the new baby will be a novice.”

Emi beamed. “You’ll be busy, Coach Shoma,” she said, petting his hair. “Don’t worry, we’ll be good for you so it isn’t too hard.”

Shoma’s eyes softened. “I know. You’re a good girl, Emi,” he said fondly.

~

Mateo was nervous. He tried to be brave and act like he was fine, but even if he was in second place, there were a lot of the bigger boys who had saved their big jumps for the long program. He had done his hardest jumps in the short. During practice, he saw one boy do a _triple axel_. He fell down and Mateo heard the coach saying he shouldn’t try it, but Mateo had never known anybody but juniors and seniors to do those. 

Mateo really wanted a medal. He knew his parents didn’t really think he understood, but even if he was only ten, he knew that more people were looking at him because of who he was. Tousan was the most famous figure skater possibly ever. Papa still held the record for Europeans medals for a long time and he retired ten years ago, when Mateo wasn’t born yet. They didn’t do many of them anymore, but when Papa and Tousan went to ice shows, there were never any empty spaces in the crowd that Mateo could see. 

Mateo knew he was supposed to be the best just because of being their son and it was scary. He didn’t want to make people sad if he didn’t do well. He wanted to be the best for himself and his family, but he still wanted to make other people happy by being really good like they expected. He got scared because he wasn’t just Mateo, he was Mateo Hanyu Fernandez.

“Mateo? Are you okay?” He looked up at Papa and smiled quickly.

“Yeah, Papa, I’m great!” he said excitedly.

He didn’t want his parents to worry so he didn’t tell them he was scared. They had enough to worry about without him bothering them with his nervousness. 

~

Shoma could tell something was wrong with Mateo. He was fidgeting instead of warming up properly. “Hey,” he said, putting his hands on his shoulders. He looked down – sadly not that far down, God, the kid was only _ten_ \- and examined his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Mateo said, but Shoma raised an eyebrow. Mateo sighed. “I’m nervous,” he admitted. “They’re all so much bigger then me,” he mumbled. “What if I don’t do good?”

“Then that’s okay,” Shoma comforted. “You’re only ten. I know you want to do good, but you’re ten. They’ve got sometimes five or six years of experience over you. You don’t have to win anything. You just have to try and keep improving.”

Mateo ducked his head. “But- But my name is Hanyu,” he all but whispered, and Shoma’s stomach sank. 

He hadn’t even thought that Mateo would feel the pressure so early. Yes, there were more eyes on him than almost any kid in the arena, but he was _ten_. Shoma couldn’t imagine that people would really expect much from a ten-year-old, no matter who his parents were, but when there was a lot of attention, he at least thought Mateo wouldn’t notice. Mateo was smarter than he thought, it seemed. “Hey.” He ducked some, looking at Mateo closely. “Yes, your name is Hanyu. Yes, both your parents are legendary skaters. But you know what?” He shook his head. “The only person you have to be is yourself. You are not your parent’s legacy. You’re _you_ ,” he stressed. “Just because they were the best skaters, you don’t have to be. You just have to be happy and love skating. Even if you never win nationals or anything, you just have to love skating.” He ruffled his curls to try and make him smile. “I got picked on. I got dismissed. I wasn’t really all that amazing until I got older. And even then, I was nineteen and looked about twelve. People always talked about me being in your Tousan’s shadow, but I wasn’t.” He shook his head. “I skated because I loved it. I honestly didn’t care that much about winning. I didn’t want to disappoint my fans, but I just loved competing. If you don’t love it, you don’t have to do it.” He cupped Mateo’s face in his hands, making him look him in the eyes. “If you want to stop competing right now, and never enter another competition, it won’t make you a bad skater or a disappointment. You can skate for fun and just be happy and nobody will be mad at you. We all love you because you’re _you_.”

Mateo looked a little less stressed. “Really? You don’t think Papa and Tousan would be mad?”

“Hell no! They thought you would end up hating skating anyways,” he said, and Mateo looked shocked. “You HATED the ice at first. You only wanted to skate when you saw your parents doing jumps and thought it was cool.”

Mateo smiled nervously. “I love skating. I want to compete. I just worry because what if I don’t do as good as Papa or Tousan?”

“I’m your coach and even I don’t care,” Shoma said, and he was sincere. He loved those kids. He was like an uncle to them more than a coach and he _loved_ them. He didn’t think he would have kids of his own, but he loved these two – and would love the baby – like they were family. “I want to help you be the _happiest_ skater you can be.” He smiled and thought of something. “I have a friend, he skated the same time your parents did, and with me. He rarely ever won gold medals. He didn’t have a single quad.” Mateo’s jaw dropped, which was hilarious. These days every junior had quads, nonetheless seniors. “He won silvers sometime, because he was just really, really good, but he rarely won gold medals. But you know what?” He shook his head. “He was at Beijing with me. He didn’t get a medal, but he was Tousan’s age and skated actually until _last year_ ,” he said. “He was so old for a skater, but he kept going until it started hurting too bad in his knees, all because he loved competing and making the fans happy.” He nodded. “That’s all you have to do. Be happy. Skate with joy, not to get gold medals.”

Mateo smiled and nodded. “I love skating, Coach. I- I want to keep competing.”

Shoma hugged him, kissing the top of his head. “You’re so strong, Mateo. I believe you will be a champion one day. But even if you never are, you’re still special and important. Never forget that.”

~

After Coach Shoma’s pep talk, Mateo wasn’t so scared anymore. He stood center ice just before his music started, and he looked up and spotted Emi. He smiled at her, and she waved her hands at him, and it reminded him that no matter what, his family would be proud. She sat in Papa’s lap, and Tousan was right beside them, and Mateo knew they would _always_ love him and be proud, just like Coach Shoma said.

When the music started, he didn’t hesitate, he decided to just have _fun_. 

~

Mateo was shaking with adrenaline in the Kiss and Cry while Coach Shoma hugged him into his side to stop it being so obvious how bad he was shaking. He felt _happy_ when he skated. It was fun and he landed all his jumps and the crowd was happy and he was just really, really having fun the whole time he skated.

And when the announcer spoke, Mateo held his breath. 

“Mateo Hanyu Fernandez has been awarded eighty-four point six-six points.” Mateo’s jaw dropped and Coach Shoma looked at him sharply. “This places him in second place.”

~

Yuzuru sobbed the whole way through the medals ceremony but didn’t care to try and hide it. Javier was trying to be ‘tough’ but Yuzuru didn’t give a damn. He filmed on his phone – which wasn’t allowed, but again, who cared – as his baby climbed onto the podium and waved at the crowd. 

“Silver medalist, Mateo Hanyu Fernandez!”

“He’s so perfect,” Yuzuru blubbered. “Look at him, he’s just so cute. Oh God, I want to hug him so bad.” His shoulders heaved as he made a whole scene. “My baby, look at my baby!”

“Tousan, people are staring,” Emi complained, but he ignored her.

“Your brother got silver, how do you expect me to act?!” he asked her, laughing through his tears as Mateo looked like he didn’t know what to do with the flowers and certificate they handed him, too big to fit in his little arms. The boy in first place laughed but helped by leaning over and adjusting the flowers to sit in Mateo’s elbow so he could hold the certificate out with both hands. 

“Cari, you’re making a scene-“

“MY BABY HAS A SILVER MEDAL AND I’M FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT, LEAVE ME ALONE!” he sobbed loudly, not caring that everybody around him was _really_ looking now. He just snapped more photos and cooed, beaming proudly as his baby boy waved to the crowd as they started their victory lap. “My baby,” he sniffled, watching his little boy waving as he skated past them. 

Eventually, Javier wrapped his arms around Yuzuru and pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back as he continued to cry. “It’s okay. He’s leaving the ice now. You’re fine.”

“God, pregnancy always makes me crazy,” Yuzuru sniffled, hugging him close. “I’m glad this is the last one, Javi. If I had to be pregnant when Mateo _and_ Emi are both competing, that would just be the end of it. I’d be crazy forever.”

Javier chuckled and kissed his cheek. “Come on. Let’s go see our little Canadian Nationals Silver Medalist now,” he said, and Yuzuru beamed and nodded.

“Come on, Emi, let’s go see Mateo,” he said, holding out his hand, and she squealed excitedly and took it, tugging him along in her eagerness. 

Javier scooped her up to carry -there were a lot of stairs- but Yuzuru kept holding her hand. Javier smiled at him warmly and Yuzuru felt more sure than ever that every decision he ever made was the right choice. 

He was married to the love of his life. He had two beautiful children. He was pregnant with their third perfect child. His little boy had won a silver medal at his first Nationals at ten years old and he couldn’t be more proud. 

His family was perfect, and he couldn’t wait to see what more gifts life could give him along the way.


End file.
